I've led some p.d. sessions for school leaders on "how to run a faculty meeting." A frequent concern among leaders -- whether from Catholic, traditional, pilot, private, or charter schools -- was that a single teacher might set a negative vibe, and teachers who felt differently behaved as a silent majority.
(A frequent concern among teachers was that the leader didn't invest enough time in preparation, so the agenda isn't tight, and time is managed poorly, and the meeting drags on way too long....but that's another story).

I came across this Seth Godin blog which captures the basic idea.

The meeting troll is a common creature, one that morphs over time and is good at hiding (snaring you when it's too late to avoid him.)

The meeting troll has a never0ending list of reasonable objections. It's the length of the list that makes the objections unreasonable.

The meeting troll never says 'we'. It's all about 'you.'

The meeting troll doesn't actually want you to fail, but is establishing a trail so that if you do, he's off the hook.

Despite his protestations about how much he hates meetings, the meeting troll actually thrives on them, because, after all, this is the only place he gets to do his best work. The very best way to extinguish the meeting troll is to extinguish meetings. The second best way is to not invite him.

A key giveaway: The meeting troll will use the phrase, "devil's advocate." More than once.

At times I've been guilty at times of being a meeting troll. I can hear myself saying "devil's advocate." But hopefully it's been a while.

I've been involved with Match Education for about 12 years — for seven years as a board member and as CEO since 2011. Before joining Match, I started and ran the Newark Charter School Fund and taught education stuff at Harvard Business School (odd but true). Way back, I was a dot-com entrepreneur. My first job in education, at 23, was as an assistant principal in a catholic school in Harlem.

We do four things here. We run a public K12 charter school in Boston (Match Charter School). We run a graduate school of education that prepares rookie teachers for work in high-need schools (Sposato GSE). We run an alternative college and jobs program for low-income students (Match Beyond). And we share our ideas and practices with the world (Match Export).

Assorted personal facts: I moved to New Jersey from Denmark when I was nine (the Danish part explains my weird name). Upon arrival, I learned English by watching television. I have three brothers. My wife and I have three daughters. The first thing on my mind when I wake up every day is espresso - I really like it. I also watch a lot of soccer on tv. I think it's the greatest sport in the world and a force for world peace.